1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gaming at terminals or banks of terminals, terminal design and construction, and gaming events played on the terminals.
2. Background of the Art
Many different varieties of games are played on terminal wagering systems in the gaming industry. A vast majority of games are played on a fairly uniform style of gaming terminal associated with slot machine games. The art work may vary based upon game themes, but the basic structure of the most common terminals produced by a variety of manufacturers barely changes among the sources. A typical Prior Art gaming terminal is shown in FIG. 1.
Although top boxes (often associated with bonus events or bonus games or special play display events) alter the appearance of the terminals by adding another stacked element to the apparatus, the underlying structure fundamentally remains the same.
Many different types of games are played on these gaming terminals, including variations on other casino type games, such as video poker, standard 3-reel or 5-reel slot machines, blackjack, keno, bingo and uniquely designed games for play on the terminals. Top box features such as the “Wheel of Fortune”® game add active elements of play to the top of the terminal or top of a bank of terminals.
There are not only variations within the generic types of games referred to as “Bingo,” but all of them have a consistent underlying basis of play. A series of available frames or spaces within a closed set of outcomes is provided on a ticket, card, lottery ticket or other temporary or permanent memorialization of a partial selection of numeric (or alphanumeric) outcomes. There is a finite set of individual alphanumerics (for purposes or a typical example, there may be 90) and the memorialization (e.g., a printed card, or virtual card, or ticket) having a smaller set of frames or selections from the finite set. The general, typical bingo card, for example, may have a 5×5 set of frames (e.g., with the center frame being the “Free” space). Eaxh card has random numbers from within subsets of the finite number (e.g., 18 numbers available for each column, out of a total of 89 or 90 numbers in the finite total).
In technical terms the generic game of bingo may be exemplary but not exclusively defined as including steps of:                a) A first finite closed set of numbers is provided as being available for individual event outcomes (alphanumerics);        b) A methodology is provided for selection of individual ones of the first finite closed set of numbers;        c) Where only a single card (or single terminal, ticket, etc) is in play (as opposed to multiple players engaged in a speed bingo event), a second finite subset of active numbers is randomly selected from within the first finite closed set of numbers, and the selection process stopped);        d) The single card is provided (before, contemporaneously or subsequently to selection of the second finite subset) with a third finite subset from within the first finite closed set of numbers;        e) Correspondence between the second finite subset and the third finite subset is determined; and        f) The degree of correspondence between the second finite subset and the third finite subset determines winning, losing or tying outcomes in the “bingo” game. Where wagers have been placed, wager outcomes are determined from these game outcome determinations.        
There is a particular variant of Bingo that is more common in Europe. A ticket (card, virtual ticket, etc.) is provided with specific numbers or specific sets and orders of numbers on a grid (e.g., three numbers, numbers in 2×3 grids, numbers in 3×3 grids, etc.). The numbers in the grid may be selected by a player or randomly provided (as the third finite subset of numbers). The second finite set of active numbers is then compared with the numbers of the third set in the grid and game event outcomes are determined.
Among the many game variants and terminal structure variants known in the field are at least among the following.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,201,827 (Weingardt) describes a bingo game and method in which bingo rules are used to simulate video poker and slot machine games. Players using linked terminals are assigned flashboards having multiple squares thereon, which squares have indicia thereon. If video poker is to be simulated, the indicia will be suit and value indicia of the type associated with playing cards. If slot machine play is to be simulated, the indicia will be of the like associated with slot machines, such as cherries, bars and bells. The calling of numbered bingo balls leads to the display to the player of corresponding indicia from numbered squares on the flashboard. A multiple overlapping ball draw may be utilized to accommodate slower and faster players, to allow overlapping games so that a slower player can have more time to play while a faster player can finish one game and commence another before the first game has closed. Where no player achieves a winning combination, an award can be provided based on a pre-determined value of indicia received by the player, including a near miss or a lowest hand. In one embodiment, the near-miss award may be paid from a progressive jackpot, to increase player excitement and to incentivize players to try for a near-miss hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,711 (Wei) describes a combination Bingo and Poker game. The game uses a game board (10) containing a matrix of Bingo places (16). The Bingo places each have a Bingo number (26) and playing card indicia (28). The game is played similarly to standard Bingo with the players marking the places on the game board as the numbers are selected by the host entity (12A). A player has a winning BINGO when the marked places form a winning Bingo configuration. The playing card indicia of the places of the winning Bingo configuration are then used to form a potentially winning Poker hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,172,683 (Kelly) describes a casino gaming system is disclosed that provides an opportunity to win a prize in response to game play, each game being played in exchange for monetary input. The gaming system includes a casino game server and a plurality of casino game units connected via a network. The game units each include a web browser. The game system enables a player to receive a prize at a casino game unit in response to winning game play, wherein the prize comprises a physical prize, coins, cash, or a ticket voucher for a physical prize, coins, or cash. The gaming system enables casino game units to request games from the game server over the network. The games may be downloaded over the network from the casino game server to the requesting game unit to be executed at the game unit and to be displayed in one or more web browsers.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,070,579 (Bienvenue) describes novel methods, devices and systems for mapping a variety of Class III game outcomes to a common set of bingo patterns. Each game theme may have a different entertaining display, based upon a corresponding Class III game. Preferably, each game theme will offer game play and paytable percentages closely matching those of the original Class III game. Some implementations provide a system wherein electronic gaming machines presenting entertaining displays of various Class III game themes are linked to a single bingo server. By linking many participating electronic gaming machines to a single server, some implementations of the invention allow all of the progressive contributions to be pooled into one large progressive jackpot, thereby making the game more attractive to players.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,355 (Grubmiller) describes an electronic roulette-type betting device and method. The device comprises a display unit and an associated display control unit for the graphic reproduction of a roulette bowl device together with a rotating ball, at least one input unit for inputting symbols on which to bet, a time control unit for setting time limits for the betting process, said limits being reproducible on the display unit as ball rotating limits by means of the display control unit, an odds determining module that determines different winning odds for the individual symbols according to the pre-defined time limits supplied by the time control unit, a random generator for producing and transmitting random variables as winning symbols, and a comparison and evaluation unit for comparing the symbols bet on with winning symbols, and for determining and displaying wins in the event of a correlation of the symbols.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,798 (Falciglia) describes a method and apparatus for playing the game of bingo on a slot machine. The bingo slot machine includes a display matrix capable of generating random numbers and a plurality of wheels, the number of wheel corresponding to the number of columns used in the display matrix, and a slot machine activating arm for use to activate the wheels as would be typically found in a slot machine. The game is played by pulling the arm and activating the wheels which stop at random wheel positions. The positions are then compared to the display matrix in a fashion similar to the game of bingo.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,619 (Matsunoyo) describes a bingo game machine, in which a plurality of randomly selected special signs are compared with signs on a bingo card and a winner of a game is decided in accordance with correspondence of the signs, includes: a display unit which displays a bingo card image including squares arranged in a matrix and allotted with different signs; and a changer which changes the sign in a predetermined square of the bingo card image. The bingo game machine randomly selects special signs are compared with signs on a bingo card and a winner of a game is decided in accordance with correspondence of the randomly selected signs with the signs on the bingo card. The machine has: a display unit for displaying a bingo card image including squares arranged in a matrix and for allotting signs to each of said squares such that no two of said squares have the same sign, said signs allotted to said squares being included in a pool of signs from which said randomly selected special signs are selected; and a changer for changing the allotment of said signs in said squares of the bingo card image in a single operation by shifting signs from one square of said squares to another square of said squares.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,396 (Tawil) describes an apparatus (10) for monitoring and registering a bingo game includes an arrangement for entering and storing a game card identifier (32) associated with each game card (30) issued in a game sequence. The apparatus (10) also includes storage (16) for storing the card pattern of each card issued in the game sequence, along with all of the symbols drawn by a game operator during the game sequence. A winning pattern comparing arrangement is connected to the card pattern and drawn symbol storage (16) and operates to compare the potential winning symbol patterns of each card issued in the game sequence with each drawn symbol immediately after the symbol is drawn. The comparison is to determine each match between the drawn symbol and a card symbol and discover the winning card in the game sequence. The apparatus (10) further includes a display for displaying the card identifier of the winning card or cards to the game operator and players.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,512 (Luciano) describes an electronic lottery game system utilizing multiple player-activated video terminals that are linked to computers performing centralized game draw and accounting functions. Each player places a wager and selects his lottery draw choices. The system enrolls the player in a future lottery game after the player makes his choices. The system automatically draws the lottery numbers. The result of the selected game is displayed at the player's terminal in such a manner as to provide the excitement of a real time game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,197 (Troy) describes a wagering system having a central processor and a plurality of playing consoles remote therefrom with said console capable of providing data inputs to the central processor, with such data inputs including identification of the playing console, the player, amount played, and games selected which may be an instantaneous game or a delayed game with said central processor being interconnected to the playing console via a multiplexing preprocessing arrangement, said central processor having a means of determining a winning play based upon the time of transmittal of the data or on a random basis, with the player console having a means capable of providing a printed record of the play to the player along with a verification of a win or a loss.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,980 (Santini) describes method and apparatus for identifying a winner in a bingo game. Players may obtain bingo cards from point-of-sale (POS) terminals that physically prints bingo cards for players in an embodiment where the player appears in person to purchase tickets, or from point-of-sale (POS) terminals that permit players to play bingo in an on-line environment. A game processor maintains a linked list identifying each card in play containing each possible value. Each entry in a linked list includes a pointer to the next element in the linked list. Each bingo card is represented as a bitmap containing an entry corresponding to each square on the bingo card. Each entry in the linked list also identifies the particular square on the bingo card containing the corresponding value, thereby allowing the appropriate entry in the corresponding bitmap to be identified. As each number is drawn, the game processor utilizes the linked list to identify all of the bingo cards in play having the drawn number. As each card containing the drawn number is identified, the corresponding entry in the bitmap is marked. Each possible winning pattern in a bingo game is likewise represented as a bitmap. If a bit in the winning bitmap is set to a value of 1, then the corresponding square must be set on a player's bingo card in order to match the pattern. Winning players are identified by comparing the card bitmap to each of the possible winning bitmaps. If all the 1's that are set in any bitmap for a winning pattern are also set in the card bitmap, then the card is a winning card.